WFMC6400 when drum spins it sounds like the bearings need grease

My WFMC6400 was in a basement flood. The machine was standing in 8" of water. The machine dried out for 10 days before trying it. It starts OK and seems to wash and rinse like it should, but when the drum spins it sounds like the bearings need grease. The faster it spins the louder it gets. If you spin the drum by hand it makes the same sound.

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Depends on what sort of machine it is. (Front or top load)Bearings can be replaced but this will always entail replacement of all the tub seals and in the case of front loaders, almost always , it will need a new drum shaft. The costs to fix can be expensive. To confirm bearing failure, you can see if the tub moves and clunks on the main shaft and the noise will increase as the tub speed increases. Drum bearings usually fail when the tub seal fails or is worn out, allowing water to get into the bearing and wash all the grease out. Brown , black greasy stains under your machine and on the floor is usually a telltale sign as well.

If a washing machine is rumbling, and very noisy on spin, the main
suspect is the drum bearings. Drum bearing failure is common on many
washing machines due to water getting into them if the drum bearing
seal fails. (Hotpoint and Zanussi in particular in my experience) To
check for drum bearing failure you can take the belt off and spin the
drum by hand. If the drum rumbles when spun then the bearings may have
gone. There should be a constant rumble all the time the drum is
revolving.

Another
drum bearing failure symptom is excessive up and down play in the drum
which can be checked for by lifting the drum up and down from the drum
lip behind the door seal. A further symptom of drum bearing failure can
be a brown rust patch underneath the washing machine and down the back
of the outer drum, underneath the drum pulley (where the belt goes)
although this patch is not always present. There are usually two small
holes at the back of the drum bearings where water that has got past
the drum bearing seal trickles out, and it's usually stained with
grease and rust if water has got into the bearings.

Loud
noises when turning the drum by hand can also be caused if the drum
itself splits, or the spider at the back of the drum has come away from
the drum, is corroded or even broken. This would normally be a loud
noise on each revolution of the drum whereas the noise when drum
bearings have gone is constant all the time the drum is turning.
Lifting the drum checking for excessive play can often reveal a broken
or loose drum spider which sometimes only occurs at certain points
round the drum (the spider has three arms and is bolted to the drum at
three points)

If the pulley wobbles, it sounds like a bad bearing, and that could account for the oil/grease. One more thing you might check, mine acted bad in the spin cycle, but mine was the leveling spring at the bottom of the drum. The way to tell from the top is if the drum tends to lean forward instead of being centered when sitting. Good luck.

Check the motor bearings
If your washing machine is making a high-pitched whine or squealing noise while running, the main culprit is usually worn motor bearings. To check the motor bearings, remove the belt and run the motor by itself, listening for the noise. If it makes the noise, than the problem is most likely the result of worn motor bearings and has nothing to do with issues in the rest of the washer.
Check for Obstructions
Sometimes coins, bra underwires and other metal objects come loose in the wash and become stuck between the tub and the drum. Using a flashlight, take a good look inside the washing machine. If you see dents, scratches or dings, that's a sign that there either are or have been items bouncing around in there that can make a horrible racket.
Check for Grease Spatter
A high-pitched squealing can be caused when the grease thins around the bearing that's located under the tub. Open up the washing machine and check the interior for grease spatters or spots. That could mean that the grease has thinned out around the bearing and it's making the noise because of rubbing.
Check the Drum for Irregularities
Spin the drum by hand, listening for the noise. If it makes the noise in the same spot with each rotation, the problem could be with the washing machine drum itself. Parts of the drum can corrode over time, leaving it vulnerable to cracks or rust.

I'm sorry
to say that this is potentially very bad news. The problem you describe is
almost certainly because the main bearing on the drum is worn out, allowing the
inner drum to "flop about". Grease from the bearing and rust that has formed as a result of water tight seals for the bearing breaking down causing the bearing components to rust is probably what you are seeing on your washing.

To test
your bearings, open the door of the machine and by putting a little lifting
pressure on the top of the inner drum, attempt to rock the stainless steel
inner drum up and down.

The outer
drum is mounted on springs and shock absorbers, so it will rock about (and it
should do this) but the inner drum should not move up and down in relation to
the outer drum. There should be ABSOLUTELY NO PLAY between the 2 drums, even
the tiniest amount will mean the bearings have failed.

If the
bearings are bad enough then other symptoms will typically include:

A
clonking noise as you lift and release the inner drum (this is the inner drum
rattling on its bearings and/or hitting the outer drum)

You will
have become aware of the spin cycle becoming far noisier recently and possibly
even a grinding crunching noise when the machine spins.

The drum
may feel like something is crunching or stopping you turning it when you spin
it by hand with the door open.

A leak
from under the machine, which you will probably be able to trace to the back of
the machine, coming from the centre of the drum. This is a result of the
failing bearing allowing water to escape through the seal at the rear.

This
is NOT a job for the uninitiated DIY enthusiast as it will mean stripping the machine
and removing the drum from the chassis, splitting it, removing pressed in
bearings and then sourcing and re-fitting new bearings.

To
be frank, the cost of a bearing set (if they are replaceable, and most are)
will be about £20 ($30) or so. But it's a long and horrible job if you haven't
done it before. I know professionals who claim they can do a bearing change in
under an hour, I've done a few and it takes me about 2 hours by the time I've
ripped the machine apart and reassembled it after the bearing swap. A local
repairer will probably attend and swap out your defective drum for a
refurbished one and then take yours away so he can refurbish it and put it back
in his stock. Sadly, this will take the price up to the point where you need to
question if the expense is worth it or do you get a new machine instead.

Thanks for choosing FixYa and welcome to the site. It sounds like it is your spin bearings. It would explain the grease and the noise also. The spin bearings have to do with the spinning of the washer. Usually, if there are loud noises associated with the washer, it is either the motor drive or the spin bearing.

this is a common fault and is a sign that there bearings on the machine have failed water is passing passed the bearing seal through the bearing , rusting the bearing on the way (that what cause the noise as the grease either leaks out or is washed away) there is now no lubricant it will in the end shatter the bearing or the bearing will collapse and the drum will spin wild and could damage other parts of the machine recomend replacing drum bearings soon as possible PS: the bearings are most likley to colapse when the machine is under most load IE a fast spin

If a washing machine is very noisy on spin, the main suspect is the drum bearings. Drum bearing failure is common on many washing machines due to water getting into them if the drum bearing seal fails. (Hotpoint and Zanussi in particular in my experience) To check for drum bearing failure you can take the belt off and spin the drum by hand. If the drum rumbles when spun then the bearings may have gone. There should be a constant rumble all the time the drum is revolving.

Another drum bearing failure symptom is excessive up and down play in the drum which can be checked for by lifting the drum up and down from the drum lip behind the door seal. A further symptom of drum bearing failure can be a brown rust patch underneath the washing machine and down the back of the outer drum, underneath the drum pulley (where the belt goes) although this patch is not always present. There are usually two small holes at the back of the drum bearings where water that has got past the drum bearing seal trickles out, and it's usually stained with grease and rust if water has got into the bearings.

The main seal is leaking on the drum bearing hence the splatter of soap softened grease
The water from the drum is coming through the seal and into the bearing and this is washing the bearing clean of grease.
No option than to get it replaced with a new drum bearing kit , Sorry !!